The Association of Malaysian Students at Iowa State University (AMSISU) decided to do something new this year.

During a brainstorming session at the beginning of the school year, new AMSISU officers mentioned the possibility of having a conference to help students learn about what is happening in Asia. The brainstorming idea materialized into the first AMSISU Leadership Conference during the weekend.

“The committee that undertook the conference had very little sleep the past few days [before the conference],” said John Wong, AMSISU adviser. He said they wanted everything to be perfect and their diligence paid off.

“It was a first-rate conference,” Wong said.

A member of the conference’s panel discussion, the vice president of Intel, even commented that the conference was better than some of the professional conferences he attended, Wong said.

The conference was centered around “Megatrends,” a book released early this year by John Naisbitt, and then focused on what students can do to prepare themselves for a leadership role in Asian business.

“‘Megatrends’ talks about what’s really happening in Asia economically,” Wong said.

It also describes several economic trends in Asia. For example, business organizations are moving from national organizations to networks, moving away from nationalistic, ethnic organizations to more comprehensive, pan-Asian trading partnerships, Wong said.

Another trend discussed is the increase in leadership by women. “In China, 25 percent of all new businesses are being started by women,” Wong said.

Women are playing an increasing role in Asian business, government and education, he said.

The conference included a panel discussion with business executives from Intel, BWBR Architects and St. Paul.

Students attending had the opportunity to ask the executives questions about, among other things, what skills they would need to be successful. Strong public speaking skills and English language proficiency were suggested.

Students also explored what leadership styles they were best suited for. They discussed four basic styles: drive, enthusiast, analyzer and affiliator.

They also discussed what students could do to better prepare themselves for the future work world.

“If [students] want to play a meaningful role [in Asia’s future economy], they have to prepare themselves beyond academic and scholastic work,” Wong said.

Students brain stormed how to do this in breakout sessions. Ideas presented by students included taking classes in business and sociology, learning leadership skills such as how to motivate people and learning to build trust.

The conference was limited in size to 50 students due to funds, although 85 signed up.

“A lot of students were so excited and so psyched up [afterward] that they’re thinking of trying a regional conference,” Wong said.

AMSISU is looking into the possibility of holding another conference in the spring.

With increased funding, perhaps working in cooperation with other international student groups, they hope to host a larger conference, Wong said.